Hometeam: Nashoba 46, North Middlesex 14

TOWNSEND 
Nashoba Regional’s second-ranked football team was focused and fearless during its annual Thanksgiving Day matchup with North Middlesex Regional.

After a sluggish start, the Chieftains exploded for 25 points in the second quarter and 21 more in the third to build a commanding lead en route to a 46-14 victory at John E. Young Memorial Field. Nashoba leads the holiday series, 15-3.

Nashoba, the defending Division 2 Super Bowl champion, improved to 11-0 and put the wraps on its second straight unbeaten regular season. The Chieftains, who will face Holy Name in a Division 2 playoff game Tuesday, have won 24 consecutive games, their last defeat coming in the 2010 Super Bowl against St. John’s.

“Any time you win on Thanksgiving Day, it’s a good thing, and it feels good,” Nashoba coach Ken Tucker said. “Thanksgiving football is always special, even if you’re playing in the playoffs later on. We had a basic approach to this game. Take care of business here, enjoy the Thanksgiving Day game. Anything else after that is a bonus. We go into bonus time now.

“Having a perfect regular season two years in a row is unbelievable,” Tucker added. “It’s something you dream about as a player and coach. They come along all too infrequently. We’ve been fortunate that they’ve come twice in a row. But we’ve got a great group of kids and a great group of coaches, and that’s what makes it happen.”

The Chieftains’ offense sputtered in the first quarter, turning the ball over on its second play (Matt Wetherell interception) and punting on its second possession.

Nashoba bounced back with a bang in the second quarter, scoring in several ways en route to a 25-7 lead at the half.

Senior running back John Ojukwu, back in action after missing two games with injury, scored his team’s first touchdown with a 10-yard rush. Ojukwu and senior running back Zach Hume had back-to-back first-down rushes in the drive, which covered 81 yards. Senior quarterback Jack Sarnoski added an 11-yard pass to junior Frankie Chiodo. Senior running back Andrew Cross ran in the 2-point conversion.

After the kickoff, Nashoba’s Cameron Rothfuss stripped the ball from quarterback John Boutwell and scooted to the Patriots’ 6. Junior Eli Williams followed with a rush, but fumbled. The loose ball bounced into the North Middlesex end zone and was recovered by the Chieftains’ Garrett Curran for a TD. Junior Drew Korn kicked his first of three PATs.

Though North Middlesex (3-8) was unable to advance the ball on its next possession, it attempted a fake punt. However, the kicker was tackled by Cross and Chiodo behind the line of scrimmage. Nashoba took advantage of its field position, scoring again when Sarnoski unloaded a 26-yard TD pass to senior wide receiver Brady Schartner.

Both teams scored in the final minute of the half. The Patriots got a 2-yard TD rush from Boutwell. Senior Ben Ferro kicked the extra point. Korn countered with a 30-yard field goal.

“North Middlesex played us tough, they did some good things, and their program is getting back to where they want it to be,” Tucker said. “We knew they had talent, and we knew they had a lot of people they could get the ball to. Up front, they did a good job blocking early in the game. We had a little trouble, but we made some adjustments and took care of business after that.”

Cross (17 yards) and Chiodo (40 yards) had TD rushes in the third quarter, while Ojukwu caught a 5-yard TD pass from Sarnoski.

Lambert won Offensive MVP honors while Joe Dolcioddo was the Defensive MVP. Sarnoski was Nashoba’s Offensive MVP, while Rothfuss won Defensive MVP honors.